Safe-closing means.



G. A. HATTER$LEY. SAFE CLOSING MEANS. APPLICATION FILED M'AYVB, 1908.

Patented Dec. .1, 1908.

. jamb b.

. C, is the circular door fitted to this opening, its edge 0, being tapering and fitted to seat against the tapering jainb Z), within the opening. This door is carried in a ring or circular frame D, in which it is supported for rotation in a manner customary in screw-door safes. The ring hangs between vertically alined trunnion-bearings (Z, formed on the usual crane-frame E, which is supported by hinges e, on the front-side of the safe-body.

The door, for opening or closing, is inanipulated by a handle F, on the crane-frame whereby it is swung to or from its opening. For holding the door to its seat in this opening, I provide a screwconnection, the complementary parts of which are provided on the tapering surfaces of the door and its amb respectively. By preference I use a plurality of threads which are equally divided around the circumference and have shown two, which start and terminate at points diametrically opposite each other. The circumferential extent of these threads may be so that each of them passes partly or entirely around the surfaces on which they are provided. lVhen one thread only is used it should at least pass once around the en tire circumference so that the door has a screw-connected bearingall around. Tn the form shown, the two threads are so arranged that they together provide such a continuous bearing.

Since the tapering surfaces of the door and its jamb are closely fitted to each other by a ground joint, the door being ground into its opening, it becomes necessary to provide the rojeeting or male part of the thread in orm of a separate member-which is placed in position after the door has been These tongues are imceived by complementary grooves in the taper ng surface of the other part of the safe, which latter grooves constitute the female threads. The male thread being in the presmachinable metal here contemplated, all

these grooves are cut out by grinding-tools and a preferable and suitable way is to form them without regard to the tapering surfaces in which they are located. That is to say, I out these grooves as if they were to be rormed in cylindrical surfaces and the tools are-arranged accordingly. This results in grooves, the bottom of which follows a cylindrical surface, that is one parallel to the axis of the door and the door-opening and the sides of these grooves are perpendicular to this axis.

The tongues which need not necessarily be non-machinablc metal, since after' the safe is closed, they are not accessible from the outside, are substantially ring-segments shaped and curved to a screw-pitch which corresponds to the pitch of the grooves, after which they are placed in 'rooves g in the door-jamb. They are closely fitted to these grooves,and since they have to be sprung into position. they remain rigidly seated. As before stated, they project above these grooves in which they are seated, the projecting part forming the thread proper. The fact that this cylindrical thread is formed on tapering surfaces causes the depth of the grooves to vary between their ends, that is they are deepest at one of their ends and become shallower towards the other end. Observe Fig. 3. The projection of the male-threads above the janib surface iscorrespondingly higher at the outer ends of these threads and decreases towards their inner ends as best shown in Fig. 1. The resulting advantage is that the deepest parts of the grooves are remote from surfaces accessible from the outside with sulfici ent metal left between them and the outside of the safe, to prevent impairment of the strength of the structure. When the door is screwed home, grooves H H, in it advance over the projecting part of the tongues in the door-opening, after which, when their engagement is complete, the door is firmly held in its opening against, movement in an axial direction, each one ofthe grooves H H, being occupied by one of the .tongues G G, as shown in Fig. .4.

' In the manufacture of the safe the door is so fitted to its jamb that, when fully seated therein, the outer terminal of each of the threads (grooves) H H, in the door is in contact with the outer-end of each of the ,i-som eo tongues occupying them at the time, so that further rotation of the door is positively stopped and Wedging of it in its opening is prevented. .Inthis osition the ends of the locking bolts K carried by the door, two be-' the construction involves an integral malethread, ad ustment for such co-act1on1s ob-' tained only with many difliculties and requires much time-consuming labor by filing and by grinding to fit the parts to their exact positions. The provision of the malethread in form of a separate insertible member which may be independently adjusted to meet the position of the door, after the sa me because the presence of the thread, by reason has been ground and fitted to its sea-t, goes far towards solving this perplexing problem.

The tongues which, to facilitate insertion, are

preferably each in sectional segments, two

sections being used for each tongue, may bemanipulated in the grooves in which they are seated, or metal may be removed at their ends, until they meet the ends of their complementary female-threads in proper position' with reference 'tothe door-seat and to the location of the bolts and their sockets.

Such adjustment may be had at any time,

also when, after use and-wear, the original fit has been lost. The formation of the male-thread. by means of such independently constructed, insertible men'ibcrs;renders it possible to provide the complementary parts of the screw-conncctlon on the tapering surfaces of the parts involved inthe doorclosure. tegral screw-thread as shown for instance in Patent N01 543,334, were to be formed in non-machinable metal as here contemplated,

of its projection, would prevent the grinding of the door to its seat. It also dispenseswith another proposed form of construction and in which the screw-conncct'ion is provided by means of'added rings or segments of rings as shown for instance in Patents No. 793,072 and No. 793,132 and the. reliable attachment of which rings is however .quite difficult. Nor is it possible to provide these added parts in the tapering surfaces proper and it'becomes necessary to extend the parts involved inwardly to increase their thickness, so that these rings ma be received. I am also aware that it as been pro osed to use two diametrically--spaced stu s which project from the jamb-surface,

This could not be done if an into engage and to hold the door as shown for inst-ancein' Patent No. 788,325. This engagement involves however only a small part of the door-circa]nference' and is altogether .toolimited to provide adequate sec irity to hold the door in its seat. Nor is it equivalent to the engagement provided by the tongues of my construction which engage and hold the door all around and at every point of its circumference.

Ha ving described my invention, I claim as new:

1. In a safe having a circular door-opening with a tapering door-jamb and a circular door with a tapering edge fitted'to the tapering jamb with a ground joint, the tapering surfaces of jamb and of door being each provided with complementary screw-p tched grooves which, when the door-1s seated, are

opposite each other, and tongues immovably seatedin the grooves in one of the tapering surfaces and projecting above the same so as to be capableof entering and of occupying also the other. grooves in the opposite tapering surface when the two surfaces are uxtaposed.

2. In a safe having a c rcular door-opening with a tapering door'jamb and a circular door with a tapering edge fitted to the tapering jamb with a ground joint, the tapering surfacesofjamb and of door being each provided with complementary screw-pitched grooves which in each of the surfaces are arranged supplemcntarv to each other so as'to i extend oircumferentially all around eachtapering surface and which, when the door is seated, are opposite each other, and tonguesarrangcd to correspondingly sup lement eachothcr so as to extend collective y completely-aroi-md one of the surfaces and adapted to fill. circumferentially the grooves in both of them all around their peripheries,

they being immovably secured in the grooves in one of the surfaces.

3, In a safe having a circular door-opcning with a tapering door-jamb and a circular door with a tapering edge fitted to the tapering jamb with a ground joint, the tapering surfaces of jamb andof door being-provided each with complementary screw pitched grooves which,'wheu the door, is seated, are

opposite each other, the bottoms" of the .cgroovcs following a cylindrical plane, and

ring-segments which form tongues immovably secured m the grooves 1n onc 'of the tapering surfaces and adapted to occupy also the groovcsinthe other tapering surface when both surfaces are in juxtaposition.

4. In asafe having a circular door-opening with a tapering door-jamb and a circular door with a tapering ed e fitted to the tapering jambwith a ground surfaces of 'amb and 0 door being each provided wit complementary screw-pitched 'oint, the tapering allel to each other and perpendicular to said grooves which, when the door is seated, are opposite each other, the bottoms of the grooves being parallel to the axis of the door and of its opening and have their sides perin the other tapering surface when said sur faces are juxtaposed.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto allix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. GEORGE A. HATTERSLEY.

axis and ring-segments which form tongues Q Witnesses:

secured 1n the grooves 1n one of the taperlng C. SPENGEL, T. Ln BEAU.

surfaces and fitted to occupy also the grooves 1 

